To Be Happy is a Must
Father left the family for another woman when little Emily was just four years old. It happened just after New Years Eve; he paused at the doorway, told his daughter, Forgive me, then quietly closed the front door behind him.
Mother received this news with a remarkable calm, almost as though she expected it. In her family, no woman ever managed to keep a husband for long. Yet, two weeks later, she drank all the sleeping medicine and tablets she could find in the house during the night, and slipped away in her sleep forever.
In the morning, Emily spent a long time loudly trying to wake her mother. After a while, she nibbled on whatever she could scout out in the fridge for breakfast, then returned once more to her mothers room to try again. Finally, exhausted, she nestled up to her and fell asleep.
January days vanish earlytwilight was already settling in when Emily opened her eyes. She awoke shivering, pulled the blanket tighter about her, and clung to her mother ever more closely, but the chill only deepened. At that moment, Emily understood: the piercing cold came from her mother, a cold so deep it was unbearable. Hot tears streamed down the girls cheeks.
Suddenly, the front door creaked open in the hall. Emily rushed out in a whirl. It was Aunt Margaret, her mothers younger sister.
Emmy, there you are. Wheres your mum? Ive been calling and calling her all day! I was getting worried sick!
Grabbing onto her aunts coat, Emily tugged her urgently down the hallway. She gazed up with wide, tear-streaked eyes, pointed towards the bedroom, and tried to shoutbut no words came. Her mouth opened, her face twisted with sorrow, tears and snot streaming down, but not a sound escaped.
Margaret had always wanted a child, but her husband had left her after five years when that hope never came true. She loved her niece deeply, almost like a daughter. Naturally, when tragedy struck, Margaret sorted out all the guardianship paperwork, and Emily came to live with her. She surrounded Emily with unending care and warmth, but for three long years, not even the finest doctors and clinics could coax a single word from the girl.
That winter, Epiphany brought a hard frost, with real, crunching snow. Emily and her friends spent the day sledging in Kensington Gardens, built a snowman family, made snow angels, and tumbled in the drifts.
All right now, time to get home. Look at youyoure covered head to toe, and your mittens are frozen stiff! called Margaret as the sky turned gold. Well pop into the Corner Shop for milk and pasta on the way.
People bustled in and out, letting in swirls of icy air, but there on the right of the entrance sat a ginger cat. Sitting with a wise air, eyes half-closed as if he didnt need anything from anyonejust shuffling his front paws to keep warm. Emily crouched down close and gestured for Margaret to head inside alone.
Fine, Ill be quick. But dont budge an inch! warned her aunt.
Emily gently stroked the cat. He arched his back, delighted by the attention, and purred quietly. Emily hugged his neck and pressed her cheek to his warm fur. Suddenly, her tears began streaming againthe cat licked them away, sniffled, and licked them again.
Oh heavens, Em! Honestly, dont let him do that. Hes a street cat, probably filthy! exclaimed Margaret as she returned, pulling Emily away. The girl resisted, twisting desperately, but Margaret bundled her into the back seat and got behind the wheel.
The cat trotted over to the car, meowed, and peered up at Emily through the frosty glass.
I cant leave him. Hes mine, and Im leaving him behind Emily whispered, smearing tears on the window.
Did you just speak? Say it again! Please, Emmy, say it one more time! Margaret pleaded, her voice trembling.
We cant leave him. Hell die without me! shouted her niece, straight into her face.
Without a second thought, Margaret jumped out, scooped the ginger cat into her arms, and climbed into the back seat with Emily. The cat, trembling, dug his claws into her coat, but, spotting Emily, leapt onto her lap and settled there, still at last.
If you want this cat, then hes yours, Margaret smiled with tears bright in her eyes. If only youd told me sooner, Id have found one for you ages ago.Emily giggleda small, hesitant sound, as if she were uncertain how laughter was supposed to feel. The ginger cat looked up at her and blinked slowly, with all the patience of someone whod been waiting lifetimes. Margaret pulled her niece into a hug, the cat squashed cheerfully between them, purring louder than the engine rumbling beneath their feet.
As they drove home, the world outside blurred in streaks of gold and lavender. The shopping bag on the seat beside them held milk, pasta, and a tin of sardinesMargaret had tossed it in at the last moment, winking. Emily stroked her new friends ears, and her voicerusty but growing strongerspilled into the car as she invented stories: about a ginger lion who guarded a queen, who found his way home to a little girl, in the middle of winter.
Margaret kept glancing at her in the rearview mirror, her heart swelling with cautious hope. Snow fell gently, dusting the rooftops with pearls, and the little cat kneaded Emilys legs, his contentment as soft as song.
In a world where happiness once felt like a thing that belonged only to other people, Emily learnedday by day, purr by purrthat sometimes, being found is just as important as finding. And for the first time, as they reached their glowing doorway, Emily didnt look back.
